ABOUT US - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Grand Traverse Region is widely recognized as possessing unique qualities that enhance our individual and collective lives. These qualities, we believe, have a common source: our natural environment.

Early native and European settlers gathered themselves in small enclaves that reflected their individual heritage, but out of the rugged existence came an interdependence that reached across these enclaves and began to define a Grand Traverse people. The early economy was based on the region's primary natural feature: trees. Since logging required frozen ground, the lumber jacks turned to farming the newly logged land during the summers. Since much of the cleared land was marginal, at best, when the logging died, so did much of the farming. This can be seen today in what may appear to be patches of prairie at the edge of woodlands, but are the remains of abandoned farmsteads. Our ancestors undoubtedly loved the region's beauty, yet the ravages of lumbering were regarded as the natural course of supporting human existence. Much of the beauty we observe today is owed to the passage of time and the healing grace of nature, not to our ancestor's planning or preservation. We should embrace and learn from our past so that our heirs do not need to wait for the healing grace of nature and time to repair our own excesses and mistakes.

Today our natural environment seems to be increasingly a backdrop to our economy, rather than the feature of our economic lives, and this could lead to a decline in respect for what we owe to this bounty. In establishing this website, we seek to contribute a forum and a resource directory that will promote the thought and wider conversation that a culture of preservation requires. To be successful, we believe, this should not be regarded as a voice, but as a place for conversation. Not a place for lecture, but for learning. Here we hope will gather those of differing views, but united in a good faith regard for each other and in the belief in the everlasting need to preserve our unique natural environment for future generations, and for beauty itself.

As hosts, we bring our own points of view. Some of those views are right, and some are wrong, so we too are here to explore. We will speak out, and then pledge to listen. Sometimes we may post something seemingly outrageous simply to push the conversation into new fresh territory, perhaps switching sides from time to time, or backing away if it falls into a void. Above all, we will strive to maintain a degree of independence, as our role may require, and attempt to be fair in hushing intemperance.


The limits of laws and regulations

Laws and regulations are essential to protecting our natural environment, and shaping it for the enjoyment of our heirs. But laws and regulations must be only the beginning point in defining right action. We must develop a Grand Traverse culture that guides each of us in how we relate to the natural environment, and how we share it with others. When we consider cutting a tree to improve our view, we must weigh too the cost to others of losing that tree, and then make our decision. Even when we plant a tree, we need to consider not only whether it has beautiful blossoms, but whether it complements the native species that define our region. When we depend on laws and regulations to define right and wrong, we disappoint our human potential-we become islands of self-interest.

TheEnvironment.org Project is underwritten by The Candle Factory and Home Elements because we believe in the importance of our region's natural beauty to both our lives and our livelihood. Our staff represents a wide range of viewpoints, and by policy we minimize associating ourselves collectively outside of our common endeavor. The specific content of this website does not represent us collectively. An opinion, except for broad statements of purpose or policy, only reflects the opinion of the specific contributor, or is a statement intended to promote discussion. Resources listed, including "partners" or "friends", should be considered on their own merit, and do not carry our endorsement. We attempt to include resources on various sides of issues as long as we believe that they reflect a genuine respect for the natural environment, even if that respect is seemingly underdeveloped or possibly contradicted by some actions.